CNN News: AT&T與美國司法部對簿公堂

A trial is going on right now that's closely being watched by companies and legal experts around America. AT&T is trying to buy Time Warner, the parent company of CNN, for more than $85 billion.Today, AT&T is a large wireless company and satellite TV distributor. But what it does not have is content programming and entertainment. And that's why it wants Time Warner, which includes CNN, HBO, Warner Brothers, TNT and TBS. The merger would be one of the biggest media deals in history, but the U.S. government is trying to block it and one big question is, will the merger break U.S. antitrust laws, which are designed to keep American companies from having too much control over the market.

美國各公司和法律專家都在密切關注正在進行的一場審訊。AT&T正在試圖以超過850億美元的價格收購CNN的母公司時代華納。AT&T是一家大型無線網絡公司兼衛(wèi)星電視分銷商。但是AT&T旗下沒有內容編排服務和娛樂服務。這也是其想收購時代華納的原因，因為時代華納旗下?lián)碛蠧NN、HBO、華納兄弟、TNT和TBS。這起并購案將成為史上最大規(guī)模的傳媒業(yè)交易，但是美國政府在試圖阻止這場交易，現在重要的問題是，這起并購案是否違反美國反壟斷法，該法旨在阻止美國公司擁有過多的市場控制權。

HADAS GOLD, CNNMONEY: The antitrust case of the decade is here. It's a case that will be thought in law schools for years to come. Back in 2016, when AT&T announced plans to buy Time Warner, which, yes, owns CNN, most media analysts assumed that the deal would be approved.

After all, it's a vertical merger. That means it's two companies that don't directly compete with one another. Think of it like a shoe company buying the leather manufacturer. So, a year later, when the Justice Department sued to block the $85 billion bid, it was a big deal.

CNNMONEY主持人哈達斯•高爾德：這是10年來規(guī)模最大的反壟斷案。該案在未來數年都將被法律學校當作案例討論。AT&T在2016年宣布其計劃收購CNN的母公司時代華納，當時大多數傳媒分析師認為這筆交易會獲得批準。畢竟這是縱向兼并。即兩家公司不是直接競爭關系。比如一家鞋業(yè)公司收購一家皮鞋制造商。而一年之后，美國司法部起訴AT&T，阻止其以850億美元收納時代華納的交易，這造成了轟動。

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Breaking news here, the Justice Department is said to file a lawsuit to block AT&T's takeover of Time Warner.

身份不明的女性：現在來看突發(fā)新聞，美國司法部向法庭提起訴訟，希望阻止AT&T收購時代華納。

GOLD: At first, AT&T claimed selective enforcement, basically saying that it was personal between the president and CNN. But now, it's unlikely we'll even hear the words "Donald Trump" during this trial. A judge blocked AT&T's request to use messages between the administration and regulators about the merger. So, the company will not be using the political bias argument in court. Instead, we're in for a battle fought on more traditional antitrust grounds.The Justice Department says the combination of AT&T and Time Warner will lead to higher prices for consumers, and it argues AT&T could hog its content, must-haves like sports and news, by not making it available to outside distribution. AT&T argues that it needs this merger to better compete with upstarts like Facebook, Amazon and Netflix. It says there's no evidence prices will go up and that they won't withhold content from anybody, because then they'd make less money.

高爾德：一開始，AT&T稱這是選擇性執(zhí)法，基本上來說就是總統(tǒng)和CNN之間的個人恩怨。但是現在，我們在審訊中甚至不太可能聽到“唐納德•特朗普”這個名字了。AT&T希望使用政府與監(jiān)管機構之間有關這一并購案的信息，但是一名法官駁回了AT&T的這一請求。因此，該公司在法庭上無法提出政治偏見這一論點。相反，現在這一案件將以更為傳統(tǒng)的反壟斷理由進行。美國司法部表示，AT&T并購時代華納將提升消費者需要支付的費用，并稱AT&T可能會獨占內容，比如體育和新聞等必需內容，使外部分銷商無法獲得這些內容。AT&T辯稱，該公司需要通過這筆并購交易來與臉譜網、亞馬遜和網飛公司等新晉公司競爭。AT&T表示，沒有證據表明價格會上升，他們也不會阻止其他公司分享內容，因為這會減少他們的收入。

It's not just AT&T and Time Warner who care about the outcome of this case. Other media companies considering mergers like Disney and 21st Century Fox are watching carefully.

關心這起案件結果的不只是AT&T和時代華納。像迪士尼和21世紀?？怂沟绕渌紤]并購交易的傳媒公司同樣在密切關注。

If the Justice Department succeeds in blocking the merger, some see signals of a new era of government scrutiny. That might stop some future deals from going forward.That's why this case could change the course of media industry history.

一些人認為，如果美國司法部成功阻止了這起并購交易，那就表明政府審查的新時代即將開始。這可能會導致未來的一些交易無法進行。這也是此案可能會改變傳媒業(yè)歷史的原因。